The Challenges of Mumbai as a Mega City

8/10/2019 The Challenges of Mumbai as a Mega City

1/40

The Challenges of Mumbai as a Mega-city

- A way forward with the European UnionFirst Working Group Meeting on environmental issues - Mumbai

July 10 and July 11, 2014.

Venue: Hotel Trident, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai


2/40

Table of contents

Introduction 1

July 10, 2014

Inaugural session 2

Session I: Water management: Conservation, waste water recycling,

distribution & groundwater 6

Session II: Renewable energy and energy efficiency for green buildings 15

July 11, 2014

Field visit to Gorai Dumping Site 20

Session I: Solid Waste Management 22

Session II: Concluding & summing up with way forward 26Summary of Findings and Recommendations 31

List of participants 33


3/40

Introduction

Mumbai and the metropolitan region around it has been growing seamlessly, with its total populationexpected to touch 44 million in 2052 even as the resources to service the burgeoning masses remainmore or less stagnant.

In November last year, a joint exploratory conference between the European Union (EU) and Mumbai

First with the full support of the Maharashtra government was held on The Challenges of Mumbai as

a Mega-City - A way forward with the European Union. The Mumbai conference had representatives

from the government, planning and development authorities, private sector and EUs representatives

as well as local and international experts. After some deliberations, it was decided to focus on threekey development issues of environment, urban mobility and city planning through a series of separate

workshops.

Taking forward that process, Mumbai First and the European Union (EU) hosted the first two-day

intensive workshop on July 10-11, 2014, in Mumbai, addressing three environmental concerns

water management and disposal, solid waste management and renewable energy.

Over two days, experts from European countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain,Italy and Sweden offered insights into how they had tackled similar challenges in their cities. On the

Indian side, principal secretary, water resources, Ms. Malini Shankar, Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Development Authority (MMRDA) Commissioner, Mr. U P S Madan, Environment Secretary, Mr. R

A Rajeev, Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) Project Director Mr. B C Khatua and

Former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Mr. J K Banthia led the discussions of how European

experiences could be applied to conditions here.

The workshop also enabled officials to have a one-on-one discussions with the EU experts on issues

of their concern. The idea behind the interactions was to give Mumbai a leg-up in its journey along its

aspirational growth trajectory.


4/40

July 10, 2014

Inaugural session

Chairman: Mr. J K Banthia, Former Chief Secretary, Government of MaharashtraOpening remarks:

The workshop is designed to be a compact one to enable municipal corporation officials present here

to discuss their specific issues with the EU experts here. Officials present here represent not only the

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) but also other corporations in the vicinity and

outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) like Nashik, Aurangabad and Nagpur.

The conference is an opportunity to address some challenges we are facing, and the issues future

urban explosion will bring such as drinking water shortages. These issues of urban management and

the challenges on the technical, financial and administrative side will have to be addressed primarily

by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the planning authority for

MMR. Let us not assume that European cities are far too small for them to be relevant. It is up to us to

scale up and customise the lessons learnt from them. But getting the latest and the best is the focus of

the workshops organised by Mumbai First and the European Union delegation led by H. E. Dr Joo

Cravinho.

Mr. Narinder Nayar, Chairman, Mumbai FirstWelcome remarks:

It is an interactive workshop, not a conference, to build on the very successful conference with 35

experts that we had last year. The areas we should be looking at are environment, urban mobility and

city planning. Environment is the first working group meeting with water, waste and energy being the

key areas.

Water lies at the heart of the global economy. According to the UN, two-thirds of the world will face

water stress by 2025. In 2009, there was a water crisis and there was talk of measures to remedy the

situation. The then Chief Minister went to Singapore for a desalination study. It is said desalination is

an expensive technology. But then, some countries like Singapore and Saudi Arabia have done it.

About 20 to 27 per cent water in the city is wasted in transmission and evaporation theft. We have

100-year-old pipelines, which can probably be regenerated with technologies available in Europe.

In solid waste management, 6-7,000 tonnes of waste is generated in the city every day. And it will

grow immensely. We need ideas on how to handle it. The success of the closure of the Gorai

Dumping Site is one of our triumphs and has been recognised in Barcelona. Its architect, Mr. R A


5/40

One of the central themes that emerged was the difficulty in meeting the challenges faced by the city.

It is a tremendously energetic city, transforming more rapidly than it has been possible to transform

policies and governance. Mumbai and European cities face a commonality there though they aredifferent in many respects and certainly different in scale.

The conference of November last year was an important first step in creating a partnership between

the government and the EU on the challenges of urbanisation in Mumbai. Last year, we had 200

participants including Indian stakeholders, EU representatives, experts from private sector,

governments. It is a tremendous pleasure for the EU to work with Government of Maharashtra and

Mumbai First in finding the right platform to develop this process.

The 40-year concept plan for MMRDA predicts that by 2052, Mumbai would have a population of 44

million, including a workforce of 23 million, spread over 1,050 sq km. These facts require the

planners to address issues like housing, infrastructure, enhancing competitiveness for the city,

ensuring holistic lifestyle; in short, evolve a complex roadmap for dealing with interactive issues and

challenges. European cities are different from Mumbai in scale and conditions but this is not an

impediment from providing expertise and lessons learnt could be useful in the development of theMMR concept plan.

After last Novembers conference, we sat down and identified three areas environment with focus

on water and solid waste; energy and transport; and city planning in general for these workshops. In

November 2014, we will have a workshop on energy and integrated public transport. In December,

we will focus on urban and city planning. A lot of emphasis is placed on good governance without

which all efforts would fail and in this field, the European experience could give some insights onfinding solutions, maybe through financial mechanisms such as public-private partnership (PPP).

The problems that each of us face can best be addressed by the coming together of experiences. I am

very pleased as Ambassador with the receptivity of the authorities in Mumbai to addressing some of

these issues. This workshop is part of wider idea to develop a consensus that each of the problems

cities face can best be addressed by coming together. The objective therefore is to channel the

energies and experiences of European cities for a better understanding of the available solutions. I

would underline our commitment and belief in forging a strong alliance with Mumbai.

Mr. U P S Madan, Commissioner of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority(MMRDA):After a very successful conference last year, it is a great idea to have a workshop on specific subjects

d i d h h i f i i h h h l li i i h E i i E h f


6/40

In the MMR, we are struggling to meet the increasing demand for drinking water. Several studies

have been done by MMRDA and several committees have given projections for the future

requirement of water. Fortunately for us, it rains heavily in and around Mumbai. So there are watersources here but it is worthwhile to ponder how far we can keep adding to the supply resources.

Should we not look at demand side

management instead? It is also

important to check out other sources

like recycling of waste water or

desalination. Some efforts towards

desalination and other technologieshave been made in the past but these

have not really moved forward.

Waste management is a huge

challenge for all municipal bodies

we have not been able to find ways

and means to manage waste. In mostmunicipal areas in India, waste is

dumped in a primitive way. Efforts

have been made in some cities but

there is no noticeable success. The

best way to deal with waste is waste-

to-energy which has been attempted

in many cities abroad but in India,

there is hardly any success story that

can be showcased. Different

technologies have been tried here but

for some reason or the other, they

have not worked well. We attempted

to have a regional waste-to-energy

plant in which six municipal bodies participated but again, there were hurdles. Whichever technology

we use, questions are asked about its relevance and likely success. The kind of garbage we have is

difficult. But we do need to have some success stories. If we can get some leads from European cities

in this respect, there is a huge potential to make it useful.

In energy conservation, a study, in which Mumbai First, National Environmental Engineering

R h I tit t (NEERI) d th US t ith i t ti t ti ti


7/40

Mr. B C Khatua, Project Director, Mumbai Transformation Support Unit:Vote of thanks

All the four speakers have raised extremely valid issues. When I was the water secretary forMaharashtra, we worked hard towards 24x7 water supply but the political leadership developed cold

feet. We also tried desalination but found it to be costly. In Chennai which has gone for desalination,

the charges for water sourced from the ground were Rs. 30 for 1000 litres of water.

The MMR is blessed to get good rain. The gross per capita availability of water in Mumbai is 250

litres, which is very good. The quality of water too is good. However, when it travels from the

treatment plan to the household, it gets contaminated along the way, thanks to the contaminants itencounters in old pipelines, through leakages, etc. It has been difficult to do spot replacement or

repairs.

The most important issue in this sector is the billed quantity vs actual supply of water. Of the total

supply of 4,000 million litres per day (mlpd), 30 % or about 1,200 million litres is unbilled. That is

more than the total volume of water Chennai gets in a day. So, perhaps Mumbai does not require a

new virgin source of supply if we tighten our belts and use water efficiently. Singapore is the best inthis matter with only 5 % unbilled quantity while Seoul has brought down its unbilled quantity from

72 per cent to a mere 7% over a decade of forceful reforms. I do not see why we cannot scale down

our losses as well.

In solid waste, it is important to learn how to segregate, reduce and manage it in a scientific and

healthier manner. I hope this workshop throws up workable solutions.


8/40

Session I

Water Management: Conservation, Waste Water Recycling, Distribution and Ground Water

Part I: Safe drinking water, better water supply, waste water recycling, distribution and ground

water.

Mumbai and the metropolitan region around it receives plentiful rainfall. Yet, it depends heavily on

rainfall year after year. It is possible to conserve freshwater supply for future use but the region has

not tapped, or even considered, the potential of conserving every drop of rainfall. Much of the rain

outside the catchment area flows down to the sea.

Water is taken for granted and fussed over with stop-gap measures only when it is absent. Measures

like rainwater harvesting have been made compulsory by some municipalities like Mumbai in the

Mumbai Metropolitan Region but they are not followed seriously. The will to evolve and implement a

long-term policy in consultation with national and international experts is missing.

Collection of data, the beginning of any serious exercise in attempting to understand and resolve an

issue, is weak. There is a need to strengthen this aspect as also to bring all water-related agencies

under one umbrella so that decisions are taken in a uniform and holistic manner. If we are to curtail

the unbilled losses, water metering needs to be taken very seriously as meters map usage as well as

seasonal differences in use. A place near Karad in Satara district in Maharashtra called Malkapur has

achieved 100 per cent water metering with a telescopic rate system. The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal

Corporation, which started water metering, has received the prime ministers excellence in public

administration award for 2009-2010.

A contract system that values low cost bids, lack of technical expertise in decision-making, lack ofgeneral awareness among the public and in government are some of the hurdles along the way. EU

cites have some ideas to offer such as the urban tool box, step-by-step approach, conserving and re-

using at home and office, tapping existing resources in an intelligent way by working with nature,

ploughing back sewage into the ecosystems, etc.

In order to assist the government in making an informed choice, a technical advisory panel needs to

be in place in an institutionalised form. The panel can aid the decision-making process by providing

the necessary and sufficient research on the probable solutions.

The inability to engage with international experts outside the official hierarchy is a stumbling block in

the free flow of ideas to foster a better understanding of sectoral issues. While it is crucial to have

informed decision-makers, it is also important for implementing officials to get access to the


9/40

Mr. Radheshyam Mopalwar, Konkan Divisional Commissioner and Ex-member Secretary ofMaharashtra Jal Pradhikaran (State unit managing water resources for Maharashtra):

In my five years in the water sector at the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) andMaharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), I have developed some understanding of

the water sector and would like to flag issues that bedevil us in the management of water. Issues of

management of water have a geographical connotation. The Deccan Trap in Maharashtra makes up

almost 82 per cent of the land in the state. This means there is almost no groundwater potential in

Maharashtra, or it is highly limited and restricted by the nature of the underground aquifier system.

So, we need to zero in on surface water availability and management becomes the focus. The western

belt of the state, comprising the MMR and Konkan, sees 47 % precipitation. In other words, 53%precipitation goes to 90% of the geographical area.

The MMR serves a population of 20 million, which will grow exponentially. A redeeming feature

here is the near-absence of agriculture. Generally speaking, the most competing demand of water in

India is agriculture. In Europe however, it figures tenth on the list. We are fortunate that we have

hardly any agriculture in the MMR. The rain-rich Konkan belt has eight lakh hectares (ha) of arable

land per district of which four lakh ha is orchard which does not need much water. The balance four

lakh ha is paddy fields which are not irrigated. So the greatest demand for water in the MMR comes

from the resident population which is burgeoning. With Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Dighi port and new

townships, there are 10 mega industrial cities in the area. All industrial areas from Tarapur to Taloja

to Lote Parshuram are densely populated. The human population and industry are the two largest

consumers of water.

The most important issue for us is the continuously increasing regulation of this sector. Coastal

Regulation Zone (CRZ) became stringent in the last decade and then in 2011, we got the River

Regulatory Zone. Fortunately, we actually get good quality water without any upstream pollution and

without requiring much treatment, whether in Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai or Navi Mumbai. Minimal

treatment is required to make it potable. There are no major water-borne diseases either, but pollution

from discharge is becoming a serious concern.

Mumbai does not treat almost 60% waste water, and 50% population defecates in the open. When it

comes to the urbanising and urbanised areas, the important issue is sanitation. The facilities forhazardous waste disposal and biomedical waste disposal in these parts are the best in the country but

municipal solid waste is the most important issue to impact the quality of water.

We need a good database. We have misconceptions that we should get water at Rs. 5 per cubic metre

whereas if treated waste water goes into recycling, it will cost Rs 12. It is possible to recycle waste


10/40


11/40

alternative forms of contract management that looks at performance attributes rather than

cost attributes.

Technology: for water treatment, recycling, desalination. The government does not

possess the know-how to do a techno-feasibility evaluation of a technology that indicates

which one will suit Mumbai in particular. Now, the government is looking at creating an

independent panel that can guide corporations.

Capacity building: Government engineers need to be citizen-centric. They should be

aware of issues like segregation of waste, e.g. wet waste and dry waste vis-a-vis organic

and non-organic waste. Recently, we undertook a water lab across the state of

Maharashtra, bringing together key decision makers from a few departments and making

them look at issues. It achieved interaction and a keen look at integrated solutions. The

EU can perhaps support institutions focussing on water, like Mitra in Nashik. There is no

equal for Mumbai in the rest of the country. But some cities, similar to Mumbai, have

gone a good job. In Dhaka, reforms have managed to reduce non-revenue water from

75% in 1980 to 53% in 2006. Chennai too has fared reasonably well in the reform area,

and has good sewage treatment. Chennai replaced the entire infrastructure dating back toBritish days. If they could do it, perhaps so can we.

Mr. Soli Arceivala, Chairman of Environment Group of Mumbai First:Mumbai is expected to grow from 12 million to 26.4 million in 2030. Almost 60% live in slums. We

have 647 cars per km on the roads. Ideally, it should be 61 per km of roads. Future development has

to be economically feasible, resource-efficient, environmentally sound and technically viable.

A single centralised agency needs to be set up with the undivided responsibility for solid waste for all

of Mumbai from waste to disposal. In water supply, a 25-year resource plan with emphasis on water

conservation and reuse is required. In sewerage, only 60% of the city is sewered and even less of this

waste is treated. The way forward is to continue to increase sewerage systems and waste water

treatment with World Bank or EU funding and expertise, use PPP to promote greater re-use of

wastewater, provide fiscal incentives for individuals, get the municipal corporation to install local

large-scale re-use plants. In Hyderabad, treated waste water is directly added to the lake since 20

years. In Jaipur, a lake has been created out of sewage but we cannot do that in Mumbai as the lakes

are too far out and such an idea would call for a great deal of pumping. In Mumbai, we are asking

people to treat and re-use individually. There are 20 places in Mumbai where this is being done.

Ms. Agostina Chiavola, Professor, Engineering Faculty of University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy:Strategies adopted in the Province of Viterbo (Center Italy) to solve the problem of drinking


12/40

The four main steps involved are:

1. Preliminary assessment

2. Feasibility study3. Project design

4. Design of the operations and control system

This approach was successfully applied to tackle drinking water contamination in Viterbo. In 2001,

the Italian legislature established a new limit for maximum concentration of arsenic (As) in drinking

water at 10 g/l, down from 50 g/l. Most sources were found to have a higher concentration of As

and fluoride mainly due to natural sources which made it, thus, unavoidable.

The data was collected and analysed in a report. We studied how much drinking water was needed to

replace contaminated sources, investigated the characteristics of the territory and the water

distribution network, and explored alternative supply sources. Three possible alternative solutions

were identified and a time schedule prepared for their implementation.

The population served was 3,25,000 to 4,37,000 inhabitants (average and peak). In all, 63municipalities were found to have arsenic levels above the permissible limit. In the assessment,

people were marked according to the concentration levels of arsenic. Among solutions available, full

or partial supply from the lake was considered as the water quality from the lake was superior, but the

option was discarded as the supply was not sufficient.

After considering other options, a combination of diffused treatment from contaminated sources as a

short-term solution and, for long term, modifications to the distribution networks by reducing the

number of treatment plants, mixing different sources, replacement of contaminated sources etc. were

selected as the best solutions. Thereafter, personnel were trained in the efficient use of the systems. As

the final step of this process, the operation and control system was designed in a way that it could

handle different problems.

Mr. Lars Gunnarsson, Advisor for Water Industry, Sweden:Urban water management informed strategic decision-making

A Swedish Foundation-funded project researched the best plan for urban water management. It founda gap in the problem-solving exercise because decisions are not made by water experts but

government. So, decision makers need to be well-informed.

When you have a number of conflicting choices, the decision on the right option has to be arrived at

h h i f i ll b b i i h f i bili lik h l i l


13/40

Our working areas are sustainability in water management in new settlements, recycling and source

control, energy savings, efficiency, and reduced emission of greenhouse gases, stormwater andwastewater management.

Sludge mixed with organic waste from the solid waste system can often be used at WWTP to improve

biogas production. Sewage treatment plants in Sweden deliver more energy than they consume.

Mr. Roelof Stuurman, Senior Expert, Groundwater, Underground and Water, Deltares, a not-for-profitconsultancy, the Netherlands:Concepts for integral water management by integration of the natural water system and the

water chain in an expanding city under changing climate conditions.

My house is below the sea level. I collect rainwater and re-use it.The best way to manage water is to

start at home and office. We store it in the winter and use it in summer.

Demystifying groundwater is very important. One needs databases of all kinds to first understand

what it is: water atlases, pilots, etc. You cannot manage what you do not know. We have used existing

wetlands and raised them, and instead of using concrete, we work with nature.

An example is Nassau county, New York. Two years ago, the hurricane flooded the county. The

damage done ran into billions of dollars. Out of 150 teams, 10 teams were selected which made

presentations on how to make it safe. Our team designed solutions using existing wetlands but raising

their level and using mangroves. We offered a concept of using models in the future that work with

nature and not with concrete.

Mumbai has a lot of waste water and rainwater. There is no need for the city to use desalination; it can

use the water there is.

The sequence for minimising flooding is retain, store and drain. A person should pay tax if water is

passing through his or her house to the stormwater drain. At the end of the street, there should be an

empty lot to store water. Drain only when it is really impossible. When we do that together, we solve

the problem.

In New York, the groundwater level was down to three to five metres when they began treating waste

water. They used infiltration and began recharging water in an inexpensive and green way. The

problem is that the water is polluted. We are working on treating the water quality before it is

infiltrated.


14/40

In New Delhi, 300 years ago, water was distributed through gardens and interiors for cooling as in

Red Fort. It was called Nahr-i-Bihisht or the Canal of Paradise. But now, with a sinking water table,

it floods a lot in the monsoon. Their solution was to use treated wastewater. It is necessary to use andreuse every drop of water, and use the subsurface. Nearly 80% of the discharge from Yamuna goes to

the sea during the monsoons. Infiltration pumps can be used to tap the full availability of water.

The guiding principles should be conserve, store (re-use), discharge; create room for canals and

rivers; land use follows soil type, elevation and ground water level; work with nature; re-use, re-cycle;

include stakeholders.

Part II: Water management; waste water, sewerage, recycling, conservation

Mr. Michael Leischner: Head-Climate Protection Unit, City of Dortmund, Germany:Reconstruction of the River Emscher System in the coal mine area of Germany

With an area of 280 sq km and a population of 588,000 people, the City of Dortmund belongs to aconglomerate of cities in the Metropole Ruhr, which has a population of about six million. Thenorthern region of the Metropole belongs to the River Emscher System, historically known as the coal

mining area of Germany with many blast furnaces and steel factories.

Industrial exploitation of the coal mines began in 1920. The muddy areas of the River EmscherSystem had to be drained to extract coal and to protect the area from flooding. More than hundredyears of first-class engineering converted the River Emscher System from a natural waterway systemto a high-tech sewage system which worked very well for industrial purposes and for sewerage of

private households but no longer had its natural character.

Since 1920, the River Emscher System gradually got converted into one of the largest open seweragesystems in the world. Being a natural disaster, most of the River Emscher System was a no-go areafor citizens. The water level of the rivers could rise up to four metres in a very short time because ofstraightening and levelling of the riverbeds, compounded by heavy rains.

The decline of heavy industry in theregion since 1990 threw up theopportunity to reconstruct the River

Emscher System and restore it to a naturalriver system. That entailed sucking outsewage from the rivers and connecting the

pipes to large sewage plants. Withadequate space, the riverbed could bereconstructed in a natural way. The total

t f t ti th Ri E h


15/40

Mr. Michael Ohm, Architect and Civil Engineer, Urban Development Project Expert, UniversityBauhaus Weimar, Germany, representing Deutscher Stdtetag - Association of German Cities:

Resource management in conurbations: Focus on the integration of self-sufficient TT ECOSANsystems

Thanks to my many years of experience in project planning and development in Asia, I hold this

project especially relevant for the future of spatial, economic and ecological planning in conurbations

of the Global South. Most conurbations (metropolises, towns, slums, etc. of the South) dispose of

sewage in the rivers and seas or store them before the front door. With self-sufficient TT ECOSAN

systems, it is possible to not only vastly reduce sewage but also produce from it raw materials like

fertilizer, phosphor, drinking water and cycle them back in circulation. TT means Toilet Trennen in

German, i.e. separate toilet.

On November 19, 2001, the World Toilet Organisation proposed World Toilet Day to be held every

year on that day. On July 24, 2013, the general assembly of the United Nations unanimously

proposed in Singapore that November 19 be observed by the world each year as World Toilet Day.

Not more than 40 per cent of the world population has adequate and hygienic sanitary facilities.

Impure water ends up causing a host of health as well as socio-economic problems, among other

things.

Since 2001, the World Toilet Organisation also organises the World Toilet Summit. In 2006, this big

event took place in Bangkok under the motto, Happy Toilet, Healthy Life. The World Toilet Day

has to engage the people to remove the taboos associated with sanitation especially when good

sanitation is still an issue for a large part of the humanity.

National governments should dedicate at least three percent of their budget to sanitary care and watersupply, and to fight the corruption in the water sector. The benefits are many: good tourism, cleaner

city and healthier citizens.

Conventional central sewage disposal methods like watering canalisation are widespread in industrial

states. Multi-stage sewage treatment plants require high investments and high water consumption -

which would further aggravate the water situation, apart from running huge capital costs and

operating expenses. As such, they are not a viable solution for many countries, e.g. arid developingcountries. Also, for ecological reasons, they have come under increasing criticism, because sewage

sludge fertilization (which also contains treacly metals and environmental chemicals) poses new

environmental problems. On the other hand, the health hazards of conventional (aerobic) sewage

treatment and the chemicals cannot be eliminated.


16/40

systems such as TT ECOSAN, as well as the application of compost toilets and sewage plants, is

beneficial in every way and narrows the scope of health risks.

ECOSAN TT has minimal power demand for waste and sewage treatment and uses the energy

potential contained in the firm and liquid rubbish (e.g., as a fermentation gas). In that sense, it is ideal

for sustainable development. This understanding is recognised among experts extensively and is

already demonstrated in numerous projects.

We would like to analyse here, with the help of my research in the context of an already developed

technology (TT-ECOSAN), the economic considerations and the integration of such systems in space,city concepts, as, for example, in Mumbai and indicate possibilities of an improved ecological and

economic balance.


17/40

Session II

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Green Buildings

Mumbai tops the green building movement in India, which is second only to the US in green building

footprint. Like water, conventional energy is a finite resource. In a climate with steadily depleting

fossil fuels and the resultant pollution from conventional energy plants, it is important to revisit the

way energy is viewed. Renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and water are not just easier on the

environment, they also do not carry the risk of depletion. Continuous improvements and upgrade of

technology have made it possible to generate energy at home, on surfaces or on hilltops.

While availability of energy in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is more or less stable, it

faces the pressure of a highly dense and rapidly growing population. Mumbai, which has had a

smooth run in terms of its electricity generation and supply, may need to soon look at unconventional

ways of generating energy to offset the growing demand. Maharashtra has an agency entrusted with

developing alternative energy sources. The Maharashtra Energy Development Agency is a

government body which works for the promotion of non-conventional and renewable energy sources.

However, it does not receive the required political and administrative thrust to meet its missionobjectives. As a result, there are isolated and scattered events in solar energy such as those in

Ulhasnagar and Nashik. A concerted drive could give it the momentum it needs.

A worrying trend in Mumbai is the popularity of glass facades in building design. While they work in

colder cities by blocking the cold air and letting in the sun, they are inefficient in Mumbais tropical

climate where sunlight is plentiful. In fact, it achieves the reverse by blocking sunlight and trapping

the heat in, pushing up the buildings air-conditioning costs.

Here, Dortmund offers an inspiring model for building energy-sufficient green buildings which can

actually sell surplus energy produced at home. It is possible to fuse related departments under one

umbrella to facilitate smoother planning and implementation, as Barcelona did to reinvent itself as a

smart city. Vitoria Gasteiz has a greening approach to energy saving, with creative measures like

plants on outer walls of homes to reduce the air-conditioning load and foresting large pockets inside

the city. Reducing energy consumption and stipulating energy efficiency performance standards for

buildings, as Belgian cities have done, are other ways of addressing issues in this sector.

None of the ideas borrowed from EU cities can be replicated in Mumbai as they are, given the

metropoliss complex dynamics and cosmopolitan fabric, apart from its scale and size. But it may be

possible to devise a customised algorithm for the city and the surrounding region based on the


18/40

focus on EnergyPlus buildings, production processes and energy heat/cold coupling; and energy

saving which includes sufficiency, building refurbishment and standards for new buildings.

One of the 96 projects to be highlighted was the campaign to build 100 EnergyPlus buildings inDortmund. These buildings produce more energy than needed. This means there are no energy costsfor the residents. On the contrary, they can earn money from the sale of surplus energy.

A hundred housing units are to be built in EnergyPlus standard from 2011 to 2016. A hundred plotsin seven new housing areas on the basis of development plans have been identified for such buildings.Investors too got interested in the plan because such a house was not too expensive compared to a

conventional house. The plots were sold out within a short period.

The houses are about 137 sqm each, have underfloor heating, no cellar, efficient air-to-airheat/cooling recovery, solar supported heat pump yielding a surplus of 1.600 kWh/a produced by

photovoltaics on rooftops.

Geothermal energy efficiency systems are already in operation in more than 1,000 buildings in thecity of Dortmund. It works through a system that brings water in a pipe from underground wells to thesurface and into a heat exchanger which concentrates the energy and releases it inside the house asheat. In hot summers, the process is reversed.

Even skyscrapers can be built in a sustainable way. An eight-storeyed wooden house has been built inpassive house standard (which stands for quality and energy efficiency) in Bad Aibling Germany.

Ms. Carme Gual Via, International Relations Coordinator, Urban Habitat, Barcelona:Barcelona: towards a self-sufficient city

Barcelona is a compact and cohesive city. Converting it into a smart city took vision, expertise and

meticulous planning that converged urban planning, ecology and information technology. Among the

principles of a smart city are: defining the citys mantra and action plans based on its structure.

Barcelonas mantra was to become a city of productive neighbourhoods, interconnected, eco-efficient,

re-naturalised and self-sufficient in energy with regeneration at zero emissions. As a smart city, it

aspires to be efficient, sustainable, productive, social and free.

The Olympics of 1992 was the starting point for the transformation of Barcelona. In 2012-2013, it got

ranked as the 10th smart city on the planet, 4th smart city in Europe and first smart city in Spain. Its

22 programmes included smart lighting - which is not expensive due to sensors for colour,

temperature levels, uniformity, and contrast. Other programmes included smart water, energy

efficiency, zero emissions mobility through electric vehicle for individual as well as public transport

and provision of 249 recharging places for a population of 1.6 million, zero government, smart


19/40

Mr. Javier Maroto Aranzabal, Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz:Vitoria Gasteiz as the European Green Capital 2012 and sustainable building with an example

of energy refurbishment: the Europa Congress CentreVitoria is the capital of the Basque country on the north part of Spain with a population of 242,673 on

a surface area of 277 km, with a density of 101.5 people per hectare. Its a city where everything is at

hand on foot or on a bicycle. Stockholm (2010), Nante (2013) and Copenhagen (2014) are the other

winners of the European Green Capital Award in different years. Vitoria Gasteiz was the first

medium-sized city to become the European Green Capital in 2012.

Eighty per cent of Europe lives in medium-sized cities. So what happens in these cities can be

replicated elsewhere. We start with the fundamental belief that The city is not a problem but a

solution because the city has the answer to everything as Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiva

(Brazil) said. The city of Vitoria Gasteiz is surrounded by a green belt. It developed many green

practices to transform the city into an inner green belt by creating little forests in the middle of the

city. One-third of the municipality, i.e. 11,000 ha is forested. Everyone in this city lives within 300

metres of a green space.

Refurbishing 20,000 houses would mean energy savings of 36.2 million kWh. Plants growing on the

outer wall of the house protect the walls from the Sun, which reduces the air-conditioning load in

summer and heating in winter Refurbishing of the Europa Congress Centre is a case in point It has


20/40

clean, secure and competitive energy system, we need to reduce energy demand and integrate

renewables.

By 2050, 75% of the global population will live in cities, i.e. 75% of resource consumption on 3% of

the surface. In other words, it will increase the density of urban areas. Dense urban areas are less

carbon-intensive than areas with low density.

The EU has set a target of a 20% CO2reduction by 2020 by improving energy efficiency and using

renewable energy sources. Through the initiative of the European Commission, the Covenant of

Mayors - a movement of European local and regional authorities - was formed. It has over 5,000signatories from small villages to metropolitan cities.

The movement forward is to be made step by step:

1. Analyse the energy use and carbon footprint of the city.

2. Have a common vision.

3. Define qualitative and quantitative pathways and see which quick wins you can take.

4. Communicate with, motivate and empower stakeholders.

5. Set up experiments and monitor progress.

A study says in the next 30 years, $350 trillion will be invested in global urban infrastructure. An

extra 6%, i.e. $22 trillion, is needed for zero-carbon infrastructure, which could lead to savings of $55

trillion. A net saving of $33 trillion in carbon savings is thus possible.

Leuven is a small city which spends 250 million a year on energy. Tweewaters is a carbon-neutral

district in Leuven which is into cogeneration, energy storage, smart appliances, district heating, and a

climate action plan, among other things.

Reducing consumption to 60 % is necessary to move towards a climate positive condition. It is

important to remember that sustainability is more than climate positive. Once energy consumption in

a home is optimised through measures like cogeneration, insulation, and air density, the choice of

material and energy-related aspects is equally important. These factors could lead to up to 52 %

savings.

Cities can lead by putting in place strategic energy polices. Energy efficiency performance standards

for new buildings are a first step. Rebuilding the existing building stock, drafting building or district

ratings, creating awareness about green materials, and subsidy programmes for green buildings can


21/40

Some barriers in the movement for green buildings are lack of awareness, lack of incentives by

municipal corporations such as FSI (floor space index- the area that can be built upon in a project), noperformance evaluation tools to measure and verify the gains of green building, limited availability of

local raw material and equipment. It is a myth that green buildings cost more than conventional

buildings. Green buildings cost only 2% more.

In Europe, the European Commission has shown the way. It has collected examples of Green Public

Procurement in a brochure to inspire public and private procurers to opt for green products. It took

four decades of sustainable policy-making for Germany to become Europes green leader. Some ofthe lessons we could learn from its growth are: start small and expand pilot projects gradually in scope

or in scale, encourage citizen participation and communicate.

Eight parameters went into developing the European Green City index: carbon dioxide, energy,

buildings, transport, water, waste and land use, air quality, environmental governance. Overall,

Copenhagen scores the highest on these criteria. Its municipality has created two flagship

programmes to create carbon-neutral neighbourhoods in partnership with stakeholders like energy

companies, architects and construction companies.

Among other European cities, Berlin uses 556.9 Mega Joules (MJ) of energy per sq m (as against the

index average of 909 MJ). In 2010, London offered low-cost energy-efficient equipment such as low-

wattage bulbs free of cost for retrofitting homes. A 1 billion Czech programme for retrofitting

buildings in Prague is financed from the sale of CO2permits to Japan.

Budapest is retrofitting buildings to cut emissions. In one of the large projects, the building was fitted

with solar cells; it received new insulation layers and windows with a target of 50% reduction in the

buildings energy consumption.


22/40

July 11, 2014.

For a city thats bursting at its seams, it is a feat to achieve the closure of a dumping ground instead of

adding one more. The scientific closure of the Gorai Dumping Site in Mumbai is one of the citys

trophies in infrastructure management. When it comes to solid waste, Mumbai and its

neighbourhoods have improved their collection methods but continue to score poorly on the

processing of waste. Sporadic efforts at vermiculture and composting are under way but those are

largely confined to individual initiatives rather than a community programme.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has not yet applied its mind seriously to the management

of solid waste. On paper, it has fault-proof Supreme Court guidelines but there is little in terms of

implementation on the ground. Open dumping - and burning of waste in pockets - has wrecked its

environment. Rampant burning at the ground has polluted the creek waters abutting the city and

affected its air quality.

The session brought out the relevance of setting targets, incentivising processing and dis-incentivising

generation of waste as well as non-compliant management by the imposition of taxes and fines. It

busted the myth that solid waste management pays for itself.

Some experiences such as that of Sweden depict incineration to work well especially as it converts

waste into energy although there is the risk of building excess capacity but Mumbai is still far from

that point. The experience in Flanders discourages incineration. A user tax for waste collection and

disposal is another way to curtail waste generation. It is also important not to have too many levels of

responsibility or decision making.

Field visit to Gorai Dumping Site to take stock of its landfill closure

Mumbai generates around 6,500 tonnes of solid waste every day. About 2,000 tonnes of this volume

from the western suburbs was sent to the Gorai dumping site every day till December 31, 2007.

Spread over 19.6 hectares near the Gorai creek and close to habitation, the Gorai dumping ground was

operational from 1972.

On collecting and hoarding its maximum capacity of about 2.34 million tonnes of waste up to an

average height of 26 metres, its scientific closure was recommended by Infrastructure Leasing &

Financial Services as per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 2000.

As part of the closure, the ground was to be levelled and the heap of waste was to be reformed with


23/40

one of the largest carbon advance transactions in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the

world.

The scientific landfill closure and methane capture project at Gorai, completed in July 2009, sets abenchmark in urban rejuvenation. The closure of the Gorai Dumping Site has benefitted Mumbai inmany ways: the unusually cramped city has got an additional 19.6 ha of open green space; its ambientair has cleaned up; the quality of creek water has improved as has marine life; and a rejuvenation ofmangroves is visible. The closure has eliminated problems such as foul odour, fire, health hazards,

breeding of flies and rodents, and led to an overall improvement in public health and hygiene.

The project has been nominated as one of the top ten Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in theEast Asia, Pacific and the South Asian region by the International Finance Corporation.

The EU delegation, along with government and municipal representatives, NGOs and Mumbai First,made a site visit to the Gorai site on July 11, 2014 and came back impressed.


24/40

Session I

Solid Waste Management

Mr. Ajit Kumar Jain, State Information Commissioner for Greater Mumbai:Solid waste management is the basic responsibility of the urban local bodies (ULB). It is regrettable

that our concept of solid waste management is confined to collection in a rudimentary way through

the activity of sweeping. That explains the unhygienic conditions in which collection is still done.

The Surat plague epidemic of 1994 was the turning point in India vis--vis solid waste. A few things

happened at that time. The Government of India set up a team to legislate Municipal Solid WasteManagement Rules. Secondly, a public interest petition was filed by an activist, Almitra Patel, in the

Supreme Court against open dumping of waste in 1996. The Supreme Court set up a committee for

drafting the rules which came into existence in 2000 providing a legal framework for a gamut of

activities such as generation, storage, collection, transportations, processing and disposal into a

sanitary landfill, etc. Then came the Supreme Court committee recommendations which are very

detailed. It went into all aspects - welfare activities, human resources, involving NGOs and so on.

Thereafter, the Government of India, the Central Pollution Control Board, state governments, state

pollution control boards, citizens groups and others took the initiative in capacity building. I was a

member on nearly all these groups. A technical advisory group was set up by the Government of India

which gave a detailed report discussing not only processing and disposal but also various technology

options for collection systems and suitable cost-effective solutions as well as identifying technology

providers and vendors. So a lot of homework has already been done. Last year, when a study group

was suggested by someone, I had pointed out that this area has been studied the maximum but what is

required is to implement it.

There are many reasons we lag in taking this sector forward.

Financial constraint is the primary reason these recommendations do not see the light of day.

One wrong impression governs the thinking in this area: that solid waste management pays

for itself. The idea was that if you compost your waste and sell it to the farmers, that will take

care of your entire expenditure of waste processing. Urban local bodies, therefore, did not

bother to make budgetary provisions for solid waste management and started looking at this

activity as a source of revenue. Not surprisingly, few came forward for this work when

tenders were floated as the criterion was not the lowest cost but maximum royalty. Compost,

it was found, is not easily saleable. Its transport cost is higher than the cost of processing.

There has to be willingness to make allocations for SWM


25/40

Mr. Soli Arceivala, Chairman, Environment Group, Mumbai First:The way forward is to set up a single corporate agency within MCGM, like BEST for transport and

electricity in the island city areas of Mumbai, with undivided responsibility for solid wastemanagement of all of Mumbai from source to disposal. Besides solid, there is medical, e-waste and

food waste. EU can be very helpful in this regard.

Ms. Jenny Astrm, Project Manager, Export, Avfall Sverige - Swedish Association of WasteManagement, Sweden:Swedish experiences on food waste recycling

As a company representing many municipalities and companies in Sweden, we have solved many

problems by working together as one nation. The bulk of Sweden household waste goes into

incineration with energy recovery. A very tiny amount goes to landfill. We use waste as a resource,

and do not see it as a problem. About 30% is sorted and recycled, 20% is food waste that we separate

and make biogas and biofertiliser out of it. This is becoming increasingly popular in Sweden.

Almost half of the waste is incinerated and used as energy in heating houses and electricity. It has not

been easy and has taken long. We have made some mistakes but we have been successful. Mumbai

can do it much faster as it is already so engaged. You have solutions; you just have to start rolling.

From 1975 to 2012, Swedens waste management has moved from 62% landfill to just 1% while

steadily augmenting its energy recovery through incineration. In the nineties, it was decided that we

wanted to use all the waste as a resource. It does not pay by itself. So we decided to develop a policy

that pushes waste away from landfill.

A mix of instruments was used: a landfill tax was introduced in 2000, landfill of combustible and

organic waste was banned in 2005 and a national target for food waste recycling set in 2010.Disincentives such as energy tax with increasing rates in the 1970s and carbon dioxide tax in the

nineties, on the one hand, and incentives such as tax reduction on biofuels for transport (2004) and

investment subsidies and grants, on the other, made the movement towards clean reprocessing easier.

Water and sewage can be integrated in efficient solutions. Food waste recycling could be a good

starting point for Mumbai. The reason is that it meets all the five steps of the European waste

hierarchy: reduce, reuse, recycle, energy recovery and landfill (if you cannot do anything else). Food

waste recycling reduces the amount of waste going to the landfill; most importantly the food that

creates methane gas which is toxic from a climate perspective. Households which recycle enhance

environment awareness and contribute to total waste reduction.

Sixty per cent of the municipalities in Sweden collect food waste separately and recycle. We are one


26/40

Mr. Christof Delatter, Head - Waste Management Policy Department, Association of Flemish Citiesand Municipalities, BelgiumSuccess factors of the Flemish policy on household waste management

Belgium is a federal state. Dutch-speaking Flanders has 6,381,859 inhabitants against Mumbais 12

million, and a density of 466 inhabitants per sq km as against Mumbais 20,700 inhabitants per sq km.

But we consider Flanders highly industrialised by European standards. The port of Antwerp has the

second largest concentration of chemical industries in the world after Houston, Texas. We also have

very intensive agriculture as well. So, traditionally, there is high pressure on land use in Flanders, like

in Mumbai, with little place to dump waste.

In Flanders, there are two levels of government involved. The EU, if you can call it the third level,sets directives. The Flemish government sets the general policy objectives, fixes the minimum

services to be organised and approves the Flemish waste management plans. Since 200 years, the 308

municipalities have been responsible for implementation - collection, recycling and treatment of waste

as well as fixing waste taxes. As an individual, a citizen cannot enter into a contract with any agency.

He has to deal with the municipality for his waste.

Till 40-50 years ago, open dumping was the norm in Flanders. In the eighties, most of the 2,394

dumping sites that were discovered were closed because of their proximity to habitation, forcing the

local authorities to find another solution for household waste.

Most municipalities did not have the financial means to invest in waste landfill sites. Regional taxes

too had to be paid on waste. So we found a solution by creating an alternative political and financial

capacity through an inter-municipal corporation which takes care of the waste of 250,000 inhabitants.

Separate corporations owned and controlled by municipalities were formed in this manner. Political

representatives from the municipalities made up their board. So, no separate level of governance wascreated and that is very important.

Over the years, we set up a waste management policy based on the policy decided at the level of

Flemish government. In 1991, the Flemish government looked at the local situation, gathered the

experiences of municipal organisations and began with an inventory of the situation with the idea of

moving away from landfilling. We started with separation of waste collection. In 1997, a new waste

management plan put emphasis on the prevention of waste and prohibition on landfilling of solid

waste. People were helped in taking care of waste.

Almost 50% of population today has home composting. We are involved in a rooftop composting

and gardening project in Dhaka in Bangladesh.


27/40

waste you cannot compost or prevent.

Municipalities have high remediation costs for non-compliant dumpsites and taxes on incineration.

Like in Sweden, we have taxes on landfilling and on incineration. Again, like Sweden, Flemish waste

management plan bans landfilling for certain types of waste and taxes them. Extended producer

responsibility for packaging waste has been introduced. The cost of sorting and recycling packaging

waste is integrated into the price of a disposable product such as a plastic drinking water bottle or a

battery. This leads to huge cash flows, that is used to set up recycling infrastructure. This is one of the

low hanging fruits that India could use.

Municipalities can use a mix of instruments: Legal: enforcement of fines and the obligation to sort waste

Social: community awareness, schools, waste calendars

Financial: pay-as-you-throw, support prevention, dumping fines

The results of these strategies were a very strong system of doorstep collection, and a high rate of

recycling. A huge gain was that since 2002, waste quantity has stopped growing. In 1991, 18% of the

household waste was collected separately. In 2012, 71% of household waste was collected separatelyfor recycling (not energy recovery) or composting. Construction waste was also part of it. We

regranulate clear rubble and use it in public works.

Residual waste has come down to 149 kg per inhabitant per year in 2012 from 331 in 1991. Half the

collection is done by private and half by government. Both have their pros and cons. The private

sector is more visible in recycling because they have a stronger link with production companies. The

use of public-private partnership depends on local circumstances and is not a goal, or part oflegislation in Flanders.

The learning from these experiences is: not to have too many levels of government. We have just two

- central level making the basic strategy decisions, and the local level making the local ones.

Economy is not the main driver and technology is the least important factor in solving the waste

problem. Rather, policy is. The cost in Flanders is 80 per inhabitant per year and only 10% of this is

financed by revenues from waste. It took us more than 20 years to get this kind of result.

We are working with two cities in India - Shimla and Coimbatore - on small scale initiatives for better

household management.


28/40

Session II

Conclusion and Summing up with Way Forward

Mr. R A Rajeev, Principal Secretary, Environment Department, Maharashtra:Special address

Last year, Thane got 1 million grant from the EU for urban energy efficiency and renewal

programmes. From the presentations, it appears Sweden and Belgium have reached where we want to

go even if they were not always on the same wavelength. Sweden gets extra garbage from Norway

and treats it because it has spare capacity. Every city has a different environment and is unique. It

needs to reinvent its specific wheel. The increase in urban population creates different problems.

In solid and liquid waste, our local bodies are not performing to our own standards. For some

emissions like dioxins, India does not have any standards. Not a single release of treated waste water

from all state treatment plants meets the Central Pollution Control Board standards. We end up

polluting the seawater which is as harmful as dumping waste.

The state environment department does not have teeth that bite. The national laws do not have them

either. Barring two to three municipal corporations, nobody is processing more than 50-60% of solidwaste, and no more than three to four municipal corporations are partially treating their liquid waste.

Why is this happening? Archaic laws such as the one prohibiting municipal corporations from giving

land on nominal leases makes the Maharashtra government thwart any solutions that municipalities

come up with. That single clause has been instrumental is getting some projects stalled.

There is a lot to do in this field. Data shows that those cities or countries doing maximum source

segregation of solid waste are cities with maximum incineration facility. Incineration happens after

landfilling. Wherever capacities for incineration or waste processing have been created, source

segregation happens to the maximum because the waste processing method itself requires incentives

for segregation. International data bears out that a waste processing facility is followed by segregation

as a byproduct and makes it sustainable.

The need of the hour is to create capacity to process waste as the setting up of processing plants

renders sustainable management irreversible. All urban local bodies should work towards this and thestate government must create the right environment for it.

There are two ways to do it:

1. At the technical level, let municipal corporations invest in such plants if they can afford. If they


29/40

PPP is not well received here because politicians do not understand it well. In fact, political leaders

are not involved in this area but they should. Mayors, for example, can do advocacy. Apart from

Gujarat and Kerala which are very good at tourism, no chief minister makes statements to keep theirstate beaches clean. These are mundane issues of administration but very important all the same. We

lack the culture of leadership. Our politicians or corporates do not talk of a no-litter campaign.

The role of the private sector is important too. The Keep America beautiful campaign that started in

1953 was almost completely a corporate affair. It is one of the largest non-profit movements, with no-

litter campaign being a part of it. ULBs, private sector, politicians and citizens groups have to work

in synergy to make it a priority area and see to it that these basic issues are addressed. The urban

habitat department in Barcelona includes environment, urban planning, clearances, and gardening. To

plan any project, all officials handling these areas sit together and make a blueprint after which it is

given for implementation.

Seoul constructed flyovers in the beginning and broke them to rejuvenate the river. In Barcelona, they

demolished flyovers to make public spaces. In Mumbai, we are still constructing flyovers. That does

not mean we should stop doing that. Likewise, it also does not mean we should stop processing waste

by technologies we are advised against using. Whatever technology is available, we must process it.Belgium has closed landfill sites in thousands whereas we have managed to close just one or two in

Mumbai.

Mr. Jayant K Banthia, Former Chief Secretary, Maharashtra:The way forward

It has been a high-calibre conference. Key speakers from the EU, representatives from the

Government of Maharashtra, particularly the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

and environment department, and various municipal bodies have participated and engaged in theprocess of taking the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) forward. At the next conference to be

held later this year, we can consider inviting the political executive and involving them in this process

as well.

Rural local bodies have thrown up fabulous leadership in Maharashtra which has worked out very

well for agriculture, cooperative sector and animal husbandry in Maharashtra but the political

representation from urban local bodies is poor. For years, the Chief Minister has been handling theurban development portfolio among his other duties when, ideally, it should be under the exclusive

charge of an independent minister. The larger municipal corporations need to throw up leadership that

is much more sensitive to areas of urban governance.

Some takeaways from the two-day conference:


30/40

It is an excellent idea to explore solar energy to the maximum. We could consider how

incentives can be put up in building regulations, both in green field and brown field projects,

to promote solar energy. Water is fun has become the catchword. Working with EU experts in developing the

waterfront could be very useful.

It is extremely important for the MMR region to reconstruct waterways. While we have a

huge plan for the rejuvenation of the holy Ganges, I am thinking of the vanishing rivers in

MMR areas which face challenges like land grabbing. Rejuvenation of the nallahs is also

very important. They are an eyesore and have turned into a dump. As chief secretary, one of

the challenges we faced was to get a perennial source of water for Mithi river. I request on behalf of Mumbai First that the government takes up inter-departmental

coordination seriously. The Prime Minister, in his inaugural speech, has said that in 2019,

India should be talking of sanitation. He has given Swachch Bharat topmost priority and

has suggested it as a way to celebrate Mahatma Gandhis birthday. This is a challenge for

urban India including the MMR. While we are trying to ensure these issues are addressed for

urban areas, I would urge Mr. Rajeev to see what could be done in rural areas for sanitation

as well, some of which are as big as Flemish municipalities.

Mumbai First will revisit the idea of converting Mumbai into a clean city and find out if

corporates can be made more visible. That the corporate sector has shown interest in the past

is encouraging.

To take it further,

The email addresses and phone number of EU experts have been circulated to all participants.

Mumbai First would facilitate this interaction. Mumbai First could catalyse some initiatives. For instance, it may help Kalyan-Dombivli

Municipal Corporation in taking forward its desire to provide 24x7 water supply. Similarly,

we could take up some wards for improvement if not the entire city as a whole.

In all, it has been an extremely exciting and interesting workshop. The participation of everyone has

been tremendous.

Ms. Karine Olislagers, Cooperation Manager, Delegation of the European Union to IndiaConcluding remarks

The last two days have been intense and instructive. As Ambassador Cravinho mentioned, we are

looking to achieve a better understanding of the current challenges that Mumbai has to overcome.

Technologies and financial solutions can be further discussed. The event is in the right direction and


31/40

management need to be worked upon. From Barcelona, we learnt how it is the city and not the

company which should decide the technology.

Decisions need to be taken on improving existing systems or developing alternative ones. We could

also come in in the realm of capacity building. The EU experience in influencing demand and supply

of water, pricing, enhancing energy efficiency in the easiest and least expensive way could be of use.

In all cases, the involvement of stakeholders is a must. Each citizen can make a difference whether in

demand and use of water, segregation of waste or energy consumption or even using bicycle and

contributing to urban planning. In energy, possible actions to improve efficiencies in the easiest and

less costly ways can be explored.

Solutions work at multiple scales - we could continue the discussions, initiated yesterday, on a one-

on-one basis. Next year, a large general conference is planned similar to the one we had in November

last year. At that conference, we would like to announce concrete projects and actions between EU

cities and Mumbai.

As Ambassador Cravinho said we need to find a modus operandi through a concrete programme of

actions. A smaller workshop on energy and integrated public transport and another one on urban

planning are expected soon.

I would ask Mumbai First, government and other agencies to let us know where, in these areas, EU

practices and experiences could add value. I thank all my European Union colleagues. I am confident

our collaboration will intensify even more in the coming months. The workshop has given us a better

understanding of the challenges and as we are working in the right direction, we need to follow up and

build on the momentum.

Mr. Narinder Nayar, Chairman, Mumbai FirstVote of thanks

It has been a wonderful workshop. All the three subjects are very important for the city. We are very

encouraged and excited about the idea of panel of global consultants and capacity building. We need

to develop these and we will take it forward.

I thank all the bureaucrats who took out the time and made the effort to make a valuable contribution

to the event. I also thank Ambassador Cravinho and all the EU experts for sharing their experiences

and adding value.

Interactions among participants at the workshop


32/40

management. A Kalyan-Dombivli corporation official asked about avenues for sale of treated waste

water and whether it could pay for itself.

The wide range of interest areas that emerged around the axis of presentations made by the EU

experts included the latest technologies in sewerage treatment and solid waste management, the

success of solid waste management on a regional scale and meeting the e-waste challenge in the

MMR, green building norms, river pollution management plan in the state of Maharashtra, water

conservation programmes, preparing cities in Maharashtra for climate change, designing sewage

pumping stations and sustainable technologies for reducing the BOD discharge from effluents to

under 10 mg per litre, as recommended by the high court.

In connection with the proposal to provide Mumbai with 24x7 water supply, the important aspects

identified by an official were customer surveys, utility mapping, hydraulic modelling, equitable

distribution, quality assurance, asset management, and water supply in slums.

A key concern raised at the conference was the change in technology each time a new officer took

charge of municipal departments. The feeling that all decisions are contractor-driven in the MMR

resonated with others as well. It was suggested that authorities should consider engaging people from

outside the country wherever necessary for better comparisons.

MMR officials mooted the formation of an institution to assist the bureaucrats in the selection of the

suitable technology in all sectors. For this purpose, a technology advisory panel to do the risk

assessment of a technology was also suggested. Environment secretary Ms Malini Shankar spoke

about the need for a technology-neutral contract as it would leave room for the adoption of the best

technology.

A municipal official spoke in favour of letting third party experts conduct pre-feasibility studies and

doing the scratch work for a project to eliminate the possibility of exaggerated projections, among

other things.


33/40

Summary of Findings and Recommendations:

The workshop on environment issues offered insights into how European cities and towns have

handled urban issues revolving around the three areas of water, energy and solid waste management.

Following the presentations of European Union (EU) experts and subsequent discussions,

representatives of the urban local bodies of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) are looking to

consolidate the process with fruitful initiatives.

It was well appreciated by EU experts, MMR officials, and other participants at the workshop that

Mumbais size, density and diversity of population could render a simple replication of methods fromEU cities difficult. At the same time, the experiences of EU cities, especially the technologies, the

problem-solving approaches, and the innovative solutions, could give Mumbai a head start and

confidence in the direction it wished to go, in addition to offering exposure to global thinking and

practices.

Some of the gainful learnings from the two-day meet:

Policy-wise,

EU experts could be involved in four areas: data collection, integration in sectoral

management, technology and capacity building.

Expertise could be institutionalised by way of a technical advisory panel to assist urban local

bodies in decision-making. Wherever decisions are made by non-experts, it is important to

ensure they are well-informed.

Involving foreign consultants in feasibility studies and/or execution of contracts is relevant to

gain from their experience and expertise.

It is easier for municipalities to deal directly with EU agencies as MMRDA has done.

The model of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) could be explored to enhance quality and add

value to the functioning of utilities.

Technology or economics are not the primary consideration in any solution. The means have

to justify the end.

Public motivation is one of the biggest drivers for sustainable growth. Communication, publicawareness campaigns and an approach encouraging citizen involvement in a common vision

could bring results.

Fewer levels of authority and decision-making foster streamlined governance and generate

quicker yields.


34/40

Quantum leaps are required in the MMRs treatment of the solid waste sector. It has to shrug

off its uni-dimensional approach to solid waste management as a collection and dumping

crisis. For reduction and segregation of waste, EU cities have demonstrated simpletechnological solutions.

Fiscal incentives for water conservation; for reducing and recycling solid waste; for treating

and recycling wastewater; and for energy conservation and efficiency have been shown to be

highly effective and should be included in any long-term programme for mitigation of

environmental stress.

Multi-stage sewage treatment plants call for a high investment and are not a viable solution

for developing countries. Environment-friendly technologies, or ECOSAN systems, not onlyvastly reduce sewage but also produce from it raw materials like fertilizer, phosphor, drinking

water and cycle them back in circulation by using the energy stored in liquid and solid waste.

The River Emscher System has striking similarities with the Mithi river restoration in

Mumbai. If it was possible to reconstruct the River Emscher System in the Metropole Ruhr

and restore it to a natural river system, it is possible to clean and restore Mithi to its pristine

self and find a perennial source of water for it.

Dortmund has demonstrated how energy-sufficient green buildings can sell surplus energy

produced in-house. Geothermal energy efficiency systems based on underground storage

should be tried on a pilot basis in the MMR.

The innovative approach used in Vitoria Gasteiz of greening the outer walls of houses to

curtail air-conditioning demand is an easy and cost-effective way to save energy in a high-

consumption city like Mumbai with its tropical climate.

Barcelona has shown smart lighting to be inexpensive.

Bicycles do not work well for Mumbais long and linear distances. But these could be

encouraged as the onward commuting option for a citizens short journey from a rail or metro

station to his/her home/office.

Landfill should take the last place in any solid waste management system. Building waste

incineration capacity is important but excess capacity creates its own problems. While

Sweden favours incineration with energy recovery, the Flemish emphasis is on recycling and

reuse. Swedens determined shrinkage of landfilled waste to 1% is worthy of emulation,

especially its focus on food waste recycling.

Waste does not pay for itself. The MMR should reorient its thinking in favour of long-term

and indirect returns in the form of improved quality of environment and sustainable growth of

the region.

Note: MMR comprises eight municipal corporations Mumbai Thane Navi Mumbai Kalyan


35/40

33

List of participants Indian

S.No. Prefix Name Designation Organisation

1. Ms. PriyaUbale SolidWasteManagementExpert

2. Mr. AjitKumarJain StateInformationCommissionerforGreater

Mumbai

3.

Mr. Hrishikeshjavkar VideoRecording

4.

Ms. SeemaKamdar NoteTaker

5. Mr. YCAnil ProjectManager FairfestMagazine,UrbanNewsDigest

6. Mr. BNPatil DirectorEnvironment GovernmentofMaharashtra

7. Mr. JKBanthia FormerChiefSecretary GovernmentofMaharashtra

8.

Mr. JSSaharia ChiefSecretary GovernmentofMaharashtra

9.

Ms. MaliniShankar PrincipalSecretary,WaterResources(CAD) GovernmentofMaharashtra

10.

Mr. RARajeev PrincipalSecretaryEnvironment GovernmentofMaharashtra

11. Mr. ShirkantSingh PrincipalSecretary(II),UrbanDevelopment GovernmentofMaharashtra


36/40

34


12.

Professor

ShyamAsolekar

Professor

IIT

Mumbai

13. Ms. SangeetaPrasad CEO IntegratedCities&IndustrialClusters,Mahindra

14. Mr. AshokBaile HydraulicEngineer KalyanDombivliMunicipalCorporation(KDMC)

15.

Mr.

P

K

Ugale

City

Engineer

Kalyan

Dombivli

Municipal

Corporation

(KDMC)

16.

Mr. SanjayGharat DeputyMunicipalCommissioner KalyanDombivliMunicipalCorporation(KDMC)

17.

Mr. Fulmali ScientistI,MemberSecretary MaharashtraCoastalZoneManagementAuthority(MCZMA)

18.

Mr. AshankDesai ViceChairman MumbaiFirst

19.

Ms. AshwiniThakar SeniorProgrammeCoordinator MumbaiFirst

20.

Mr. NandanMaluste Hon.Secretary&Treasurer MumbaiFirst

21.

Mr. NarinderNayar Chairman MumbaiFirst

22. Ms. Raylene ProgrammeOfficer MumbaiFirst

23. Mr. ShishirJoshi CEO MumbaiFirst


37/40

35


24.

Mr.

SoliArceivala

Chairman,

Environment

Group

Mumbai

First

25. Mr. UPSMadan Commissioner MumbaiMetropolitanRegionDevelopmentAuthority(MMRDA)

26. Mr. HCBhagat AssistantEngineer(MSDP) MumbaiSewageDisposalProject

27.

Mr.

B

C

Khatua

Project

Director

Mumbai

Transformation

Support

Unit

(MTSU)

28.

Mr. ASGupta ChiefEngineer(M&E) MunicipalCorporationofGreaterMumbai(MCGM)

29.

Mr. MDPimpale DeputyChiefEngineer(S.W.M.)Projects MunicipalCorporationofGreaterMumbai(MCGM)

30.

Mr. RNKadam DeputyChiefEngineer(S.W.M.)Projects MunicipalCorporationofGreaterMumbai(MCGM)

31.

Mr. SRArgade DeputyHydraulicEngineer(Waterdistribution

ImprovementProject)

MunicipalCorporationofGreaterMumbai(MCGM)

32.

Mr. SitaramKunte Commissioner MunicipalCorporationofGreaterMumbai(MCGM)

33.

Ms. AnjaliPandit NAGAR

34. Mr. SMChawanke ExecutiveEngineer NashikMunicipalCorporation(NMC)

35.

Mr. SanjeevKumar Commissioner NashikMunicipalCorporation(NMC)


38/40

36


36.

Mr.

UB

Pawar

Superintendent

Engineer

Nashik

Municipal

Corporation

(NMC)

37. Ms. Mali ExecutiveEngineer NashikMunicipalCorporation(NMC)

38. Ms. SRVanjari DeputyEngineer(Civil) NashikMunicipalCorporation(NMC)

39. Mr. RakeshKumar ScientistG&Head NationalEnvironmentalEngineeringResearchInstitute(NEERI)

40.

Mr. RishiAgarwal ResearchFellow ObserverResearchFoundation(ORF)

41.

Mr. AseemGupta Commissioner ThaneMunicipalCorporation

42.

Ms. ClaraLewis SeniorAssistantEditor TheTimesofIndia


39/40

37

List of participants - European Union

S.

No.

Prefix

Name

Designation

Organisation

1. Mr. JavierMaroto MayorofVitoriaGasteiz

2.

Mr. Christof

Delatter

HeadofWasteManagementPolicyDepartment AssociationofFlemishCitiesandMunicipalities

3. Ms. JennyAstrom ProjectManagerExport AvfallSverige SwedishAssociationofWasteManagement

4. Mr. Michael

Leischner

HeadofClimateProtectionUnit CityofDortmund

5.

Mr. GunnarHaglund Consul ConsulateGeneralofSweden

6.

Mr. DeepakMaggon DAIEurope

7.

Amb Ambassador

JooCravinho

HeadofDelegation DelegationoftheEuropeanUniontoIndia

8. Ms. Karine

Olislagers

EconomicCooperation DelegationoftheEuropeanUniontoIndia

9. Mr. Roelof

Stuurman

Senior Expert Groundwater, Underground &

Water

Deltares

10. Mr. JoelFernandes RegionalDirector(Mumbai) EuropeanBusinessandTechnologyCentreWesternRegion

11.

Mr. BrunoCharles VicePresident GreaterLyon

12.

Ms. Cynitta

Ebenezer

ManagerSales REMONDISAqua(India)PrivateLtd

13.

Mr. LarsGunnarsson Member RoyalSwedishAcademyofEngineeringSciences

14.

Mr. MichaelOhm Experturbanprojectdevelopment/Architect UniversityBauhausWeimar

15.

Ms. Agostina

Chiavola

Professor,EngineeringFaculty UniversityofRome"LaSapienza"


40/40

38

S.

No.

Prefix

Name

Designation

Organisation

16.

Ms. CarmeGualVia InternationalRelationsCoordinator UrbanHabitat

17.

Ms. Katleen

Govaerts

Unit Manager "Transitions, Energy &

Environment"

VITONV(FlemishInstituteofTechnologicalResearch)

18.

Mr. Evert

Lichtenbelt

StrategicAdvisor&Energy Waternet,StrategicCentre/AEBAmsterdam

Documents

The Challenges of Mumbai as a Mega City